50% off Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition (10-Volumes)

This discipline-defining encyclopedia serves research needs in numerous fields that are affected by the rapid pace
and substantial impact of technological change and is a must have for every academic library collection.
Expires 12/31/2016.

Abstract

Communication is generally understood as a two-part process consisting of messages that convey content and the interpretation of that content by the receiver. Meanings are conveyed through words, images, and symbols. In the U.S., mass media serve as one of the most significant social institutions shaping communication since media act as gatekeepers of information using stereotypes as one of the primary tools to communicate the values of the dominant culture (Creedon, 1993; Wood, 1999). As I discussed in Chapter II, stereotypes circumscribe the boundaries around where we “belong” and what is “possible” for us in our lives. We learn both about how to view each other (which teaches us to “discriminate” and rank by category), how to view ourselves (which teaches us to internalize views of being “less than” in relation to gender, race, class, and other systems of ranking), and how to organize our society (which teaches us who belongs where). These representations have a powerful influence on the possibilities that people perceive for themselves and impact the behaviors through which they manifest these possibilities. Contemporary mass media play a pivotal role in defining the “appropriate” cultural boundaries around such factors as gender, race, and class. In Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (1992), Toni Morrison states: “Eddy is White, and we know he is because nobody says so” (p. 72). It is only necessary to “define” those who are outside of the dominant social center. In the end, every “aspect of our culturally mediated identity . . . is challenged or altered by the hypnotic power of mass media” (Miller, 2004, p. 2). This chapter explores these issues in the following sections: (1) mass media and its power to influence; and (2) and in-depth analysis of Wired magazine.

Mass Media And Its Power To Influence

In our dominator social system, men still hold the primary “power to define” and in contemporary industrialized societies that power is often exerted via the mass media and information technology. In the U.S., men are still the primary owners of media/communications and technology companies. In a recent Forbes report “The 400 Richest Americans,” which ranks people by their net worth, 16 of the top 50 own technology or media companies and only one was a woman (Anne Cox Chambers owns Cox Enterprises which includes 17 newspapers, 15 TV stations, and 80 radio stations). Table 1 highlights the technology and media owners among the top 50 of the Forbes 400 richest Americans (Miller, 2007).